SwiftKey Flow brings trace input to leading Android keyboard

SwiftKey has announced a brand new version of its popular keyboard app for Android, dubbed SwiftKey Flow. Launching "soon," SwiftKey Flow will bring continuous input -- similar to what's found in Swype and others -- to SwiftKey, while retaining the personalized prediction tech for which it's is best known.

An evolution of the intelligent prediction software used in SwiftKey 3 powers the flow-based input, meaning it's sensitive to context, as well as individual typing styles. SwiftKey Flow will also allow users to switch between the two input modes on the fly depending on their preference, or how many hands they have free.

Android Central had the chance to demo SwiftKey Flow recently, and we were impressed with the speed and accuracy of its new trace input features. We noticed that the keyboard analyzes the pattern your finger takes in real time, rather than waiting until the pattern is complete, allowing predictions to be built up on the fly. Overall, it's an incredibly speedy typing experience.

The SwiftKey Flow beta test will begin "within weeks" for those registered on SwiftKey's VIP community site, ahead of an eventual launch on Google Play.

Check out the demo video above. We've got today's full press release after the break.

SwiftKey Flow brings gesture input to Android’s best selling keyboard

(Oct 25 2012) London, UK—The team behind Android’s best-selling keyboard today unveils SwiftKey Flow, a new typing approach that combines the mind-reading capabilities of SwiftKey’s engine with the ability to glide your finger across a phone’s screen to type words.

The new app harnesses the unrivalled predictive power of SwiftKey to give a completely new take on continuous input, offering real-time prediction as a user begins to ‘flow’ a word on the keys. This allows the word to be inputted by simply letting go of the screen as soon as the word is predicted, saving valuable time and effort. The user is also able to select relevant next-word predictions based on SwiftKey’s knowledge of their writing habits.

SwiftKey Flow has been engineered to simultaneously support both the traditional multi-touch tapping style as well as gliding. This empowers the user to seamlessly switch between the two modes as they please, ‘flowing’ a quick text if they only have one hand free, or tapping out a longer note with both hands at speed. Add the fact that SwiftKey constantly predicts the next word in a sentence and the user may not even have to tap or flow at all for some words.

A video of SwiftKey Flow in action is available on the SwiftKey blog, and the app’s team plan to start beta testing it with their VIP community within weeks. Anyone wishing to take part is encouraged to sign up at http://vip.swiftkey.net/.

SwiftKey CEO Jon Reynolds said: “We know our users have different tastes and habits - this way they’ll get to choose what style of writing suits them best without compromising the power of the predictions. We’ve been hard at work on SwiftKey Flow over the last year and it’s great to finally be able to give you a sneak peek. I’m confident our users will be blown away once they get their hands on it.”

SwiftKey Flow is the latest innovation from the London-based company, which recently celebrated hitting 10 million downloads of its original SwiftKey app. A No.1 bestselling app on Google Play in 30 countries, SwiftKey is available in 44 languages and counting.

Using cutting-edge artificial intelligence, SwiftKey Flow learns as it is used to build a personalised prediction profile specific to each user. This can be improved by giving the keyboard access to a user’s SMS, email, Facebook and Twitter archives. When writing a text, email or tweet, the profile is used to correct typos in context, predict a word as it is being traced, or suggest the most likely next word in a sentence. SwiftKey correctly predicts 30% of next words before any characters are entered, and 84% of next words are correctly predicted after just two characters. The engine is so powerful, it is capable of predicting in up to three languages at once.

In the last year, SwiftKey won a people’s voice Webby Award for mobile experimentation and innovation, most innovative app at the GSMA awards at Mobile World Congress and also best startup at the Guardian Digital Innovation awards. Its bespoke product for clinicians using touchscreens, SwiftKey Healthcare, recently won the best enterprise Appster at the Apps World conference.

Reader comments

SwiftKey Flow brings trace input to leading Android keyboard

I have used a multitude of keyboards over the years (SwiftKey, Swype, etc.) and SwiftKey is actually my favorite. Now you are telling me that it has all the benefits of SwiftKey and the tracing of Swype? Someone's chocolate in their peanut butter!

I simply can't use phone/tablet keyboards that require me to peck out letters. Predictive or not, the pecking fingers annoy the hell out of me, so I've been using Swype. This will at least get me to go back and check Swiftkey out again...

Interesting; I've been using Swype for a long time and I tried the demo of SwiftKey 3 a while ago and didn't like it. I got too used to sliding my finger across the keyboard. I will at least check out the demo of SwiftKey flow to see how it works and compares to Swype.

As much as I'm excited for this I'm not signing up for the beta. I got went from SwiftKey X to SwiftKey 3 Beta to SwiftKey 3. It all that app switching SwiftKey forgot everything about my typing that it had learned. I had to start over. :(

Tell you what, if the incorporate google's voice translation (or have the option to) on the voice operation of the keyboard - I'd pay $50 for this app.

I love swype, and I really liked swiftkey's prediction (although swype has proven to be much faster), so the combo will be a fantastic blend of both inputs...awesome.

The stock GS3 keyboard had the same idea (swype + prediction) - but unfortunately sucked. It did, however, incorporate google's voice input, with continuous speaking/translation allowed. I get the feeling with the release of google glass people will finally be paying a lot more attention to voice operation.

Alex, did you try the voice input? Was it the stock google mic or another version like Swype's Dragon?

Does anyone else have problems with SwiftKey on their Asus TF tablets? When I have it attached to the dock it still puts the text prediction at the bottom of the screen. Thumb Keyboard gets it right and only shows that when using the tablet undocked. Why can't SwiftKey?

Am I the only one who got a little giddy when they started showing off the swiping with real-time predictions? So glad that AndroidCentral posted the story a few months ago with info to sign up for Swiftkey VIP. Thanks guys!

This is awesome! I've been a beta tester for SwiftKey since it came out and I've suggested this feature many times.

I'm always trying new keyboards and getting in on beta programs, but I always come back to SwiftKey after a few days. The latest Swype beta was the best version they've had so far, but the predictions in SwiftKey just can't be beat. Their customer support is top notch as well.

Have you tried TouchPal? It does all of this, and you can customize it, and best of all IT'S FREE. I paid for SwiftKey 3, I've tried it a bunch of times but I always go back to TouchPal. Plus, the voice input is spot on as well.

I will be trying this out. I loved the predictive accuracy of Swiftkey but I found myself trying to swipe my finger whenever I used the program (which produced bizarre results). I spent some time learning how to Swype and now I cannot reprogram my brain back to clicking on each key.

Swype really needs to step up their game now as even the default keyboard on my S3 had a swipe ability.

The whole point of SwiftKey is to NOT type anything, and instead simply pick words from the list of selections it offers by understanding your writing style. People who use Swype spend all their time planning their finger movements such that reaching for the selection list actually slows them down. Swype users don't select suggested word very often. Some never do.

I just don't think the two typing styles work well with each other. There is a fundamentally different though process going on with Swype users than with list pickers.

Alternatively, it could be a good idea as a way to convert swype users.
I myself am a swype user, and having heard of SwiftKey, decided not to go for it simply because I dreaded having to go back to a non-swype keyboard whilst it learned my style. The ability to continue swype-ing, whilst SwiftKey learns my writing style, then once it has learned my style, wean myself off swype and towards the predictions, would be a big selling point to me and i would assume, other swype users.

You nailed it! Been using Swype for years so going back to tap tap tap on the keyboard is really tough. When the GNEX came out I was lost until someone got us a hacked copy of swype to install and use. The beta releases have been getting better lately so we will see. I will check SwiftKey Flow out just to see how it compares.

Am I the only one who's had trouble seeing the benefits of SwiftKey over the basic Android keyboard? Out of the two, I liked Android's default keyboard better. Looks nicer, and it does a good job of guessing words, etc.

That said, when I tried Swype, I fell in love with that, so maybe when this version comes out, I'll give it a shot.

Actually it's because you failed to use SwiftKey long enough for it to learn your language style. SwiftKey isn't about the typing. It's about entire word predictions before you even type the first character. You have to train it, and after a week or two it knows what words you will type next before you do. Then you just pick entry words from the suggestions.

Unless you write similar texts or tweets often, this isn't going to work for many people. Swiftkey's predictions are great, but you can't always rely on them to be perfect if you use your phone for more than responding to texts in the same way.

I find the algorithm for selecting the next word to be very smart, even when I've never typed the same thing before. For example, if you type "Morgan" the predictions for the next word are "Stanley" and "Freeman". I know that I've never typed either of those words before.

>"Am I the only one who's had trouble seeing the benefits of SwiftKey over the basic Android keyboard?"

Yes.

I've been using SwiftKey since the original beta for the first version (which entitled me to buy it for a buck and I've gotten every update since) and it just keeps getting better and better with it's core psychic word prediction leading the way.

I tried Swype a couple of times and after about 30 minutes, I always switched back. The novelty of dragging your finger around wears off quickly when you realize and time savings you may have had get erased when Swype believes it knows what word you want (instead of putting up a pick list) and you have to keep reentering that one word over and over. It's also best on smaller-screened phones.

This works great for me because I have friends with Russian, Indian and other long names. This predicts those names with correct spelling 99% of the time. I wish that it has a custom shortcut/dictionary like BlackBerries.